RECIPES

Garlic Marinara

I find this sassy red sauce essential for my best eggplant, veal and chicken parmesans. (Try: Italian-American Veal Parm.) It also holds its own simply tossed with pasta or slathered on Italian subs. Adapted from a Bon Appetit recipe.

It’s important for all that garlic to have a fine texture. I push the cloves through a garlic press.

Butter gives marinara a lovely silky finish. You should omit it if you are using the marinara in a rich dish or on eggplant, veal or chicken parmesan.

Shopping Cart: It’s vital to buy only the best tomatoes for marinara. I use premium San Marzano plum tomatoes from Italy. They are canned in thick juices (passata), unlike the watery, feeble stuff found in standard canned tomatoes.

Make-Ahead: Marinara tastes better the next day. I freeze marinara in batches so it is ready when I am. About 2 cups (500 mL) marinara is enough sauce for 1 lb (500 g) pasta.